Doubt: Catholic Church and Father Flynn

Leaders need to make decisions on the basis of substantiated evidence. Decisions made under other circumstances can cause the observer to doubt the legitimacy of the leader’s decision. In the play Doubt: A Parable, by John Patrick Shanley, Sister Aloysius’ mischievous mind is always looking for ways to over analyse the actions of Father Flynn. She is almost diabolical in her actions to have him removed from the school. Father Flynn, on the other hand, appears only interested in doing what is best for Donald Muller. Unfortunately, his well-intentioned actions make him vulnerable to the suspicious Sister Aloysius. Sister Aloysius’ certainty that innocent actions are harmful causes her to unfairly judge Father Flynn. Sister Aloysius unfairly judges Father Flynn's sermons and suspects his motives. At this point Sister Aloysius has only suspicions that Father Flynn could be in Doubt or knows someone that is. While speaking to Sister James, Sister Aloysius indicates her concerns about Father Flynn’s and indicates that by saying “Well, sermons come from somewhere, don't they? Is Father Flynn in Doubt, is he concerned that someone else is in Doubt?” (Shanley 14). Sister Aloysius does not have any substantiated evidence of Father Flynn, as she only has her suspicions. One of her major character flaw is that she harbors a deep mistrust in her students, fellow sergman and society itself. So far, all she knew at that point was that Father Flynn grabbed a boy’s wrists, and that he was talking about Doubt in one of his sermons. Father Flynn said later on in the book that his sermons are not true stories because lies make for a better sermon. “I'm sorry, I'm not forthright, but I must be careful not to create something. I can only say I am confused, perhaps needless, about matters in St. Nicolas School,” Sister Aloysius remarks. (15) You can tell by this quote that she has some negative...

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Weather is a key element in providing viewers not only the time of year the story is taking place, such as seasons, but it can also be used as a factor for additional drama. There are three different days showcasing three different church services, this provides evidence that the movie takes place within a few weeks rather than a few days. There is also never a hint of sunshine, it is either overcast, raining or snowing, suggesting that it is winter. The cold and darkness can play a large role in evoking certain emotions. In one particular scene, Sister Aloysius is in her office asking FatherFlynn of his suspicious acts with Donald. It is raining heavily outside and when Sister Aloysius exclaims, “So you admit it!” a loud roaring of thunder takes place, adding tension between the characters. Shanley uses the weather to add suspense and anxiety to a heated argument, leaving...

...Sister James I was left in doubt throughout the story regarding what was true and what was not. One aspect of the story that did not leave me in doubt was the juxtaposition of the very different philosophies of Sister Aloysius and FatherFlynn. One the far end of rigid sternness was Sister Aloysius with her dislike of anything new or changing and who felt the children should be dealt with stern rigid methods. On the complete opposite side was FatherFlynn who felt the children should be related to with kindness and love and favored progression to transform the school. Even within the structured religious institution there was the classic dichotomy between black and white, light and dark, good and bad; although there is doubt about which character reflects which aspect, for most of the story I felt Sister Aloysius represented the black and FatherFlynn the white. Through their conversations and actions the two waged a war of words and wills which left Sister James caught in the crossfire wherein she subsequently lost her innocence and was possibly the biggest victim of all.
Although she was perceived as ignorant by Sister Aloysius I feel Sister James simply had a new and progressive attitude towards the education of her students. Sister Aloysius quickly cut through her ideals on how she should teach and be regarded by students in favor of her own...

...In John Patrick Shanley’s play Doubt, Mrs. Muller responds to Sister Aloysius’s insinuations of “an improper relationship” (vii) between FatherFlynn and her son Donald by saying, “Why you need to know something like that for sure when you don’t? Please, Sister. You got some kind a righteous cause going with this priest and now you want to drag my boy into it”(vii). Mrs. Muller is questioning Sister Aloysius’s intentions. Mrs. Muller is considering that Sister Aloysius’s motives are personal, “Look, Sister, I don’t want any trouble, and I feel like you’re on the march somehow”(vii). She feels her son is being used as a pawn with no regard for his future or safety exclaming, “My husband would kill that child over a thing like that”(vii). She is not convinced that Sister Aloysius has Donald’s best interest in mind she begins to doubt Sister Aloysius “I don’t know you and me are on the same side”(vii). Mrs. Muller is not disputing the allegations but instead would like to avoid them all together saying, “I think I understand the kind of thing you’re talking about. But I don’t want to get into it” (vii). She has a goal in mind for her son, she would like to see him graduate thru high school onto college and she believes this situation would only cause more difficulties for Donald. Mrs. Muller has decided not to indulge Sister Aloysius and in the end side with FatherFlynn, stating “I’ll be...

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...the CatholicChurch does not have the best reputation when it comes to sexual harassment and child molestation accusations. Cases such as these have been coming up for years but all seem to have similar outcomes. The priest typically gets a slap on the wrist, gets moved to another parish, and the issue is never spoken of again. In some of the more controversial cases, the priest is removed from the priesthood simply to get his name away from any association with the church because the church is known to do anything it can to cover up such accusations and rumors. This is no different for FatherFlynn in the book Doubt, where he is accused of making sexual advances on an eighth grade boy that attends the school that he works in. He is accused by the principle of the school, Sister Aloysius, who is convinced he is guilty of giving the young boy wine from the sacristy and making inappropriate advances on him after doing so. Sister Aloysius may not have real evidence but based on Father Flynn’s behavior, his interest in boys with little to no friends, and his guilty conscience, it is easy to see that he is in fact guilty.
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